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Please excuse the lack of photos in some of my older posts as I am trying to slowly go back through and add the photos that were accidentally deleted

July 13, 2010

Halloween in July? No.... I'm Just Late!

I started this blog just a few weeks ago. So obviously I haven't made any Halloween goodies recently, but I do have some pics stored on my computer from when I did make some treats for our company Halloween party in 2009 (which I must add, I won first prize for the best costume! I mean look at me, I'm soooo date-able!)

























But on to what really matters... the FOOD!

I figured I couldn't go wrong with strawberries and chocolate, and it seemed pretty easy to make, so I decided to try this recipe.

Strawberry Ghosts (from Taste of Home website)

***Yields 30 servings
***Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

* 30 fresh strawberries
* 8 ounces white baking chocolate, chopped
* 1 teaspoon shortening
* 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
* 1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

* Wash strawberries and gently pat with paper towels until completely dry. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt white chocolate and shortening at 50% power; stir until smooth. Stir in extract.
* Dip strawberries in chocolate mixture; place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet, allowing excess chocolate to form the ghosts' tails. Immediately press chocolate chips into coating for eyes. Freeze for 5 minutes.
* In a microwave-safe bowl, melt remaining chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Dip a toothpick into melted chocolate and draw a mouth on each face. Yield: 2-1/2 dozen.


Nutrition Facts: 1 strawberry equals 54 calories, 3 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 2 mg cholesterol, 8 mg sodium, 6 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 1 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1/2 starch, 1/2 fat.



Ok so does it say something about me if this recipe was NOT very easy for me to make?! My end result did not turn out nearly as pretty as the picture from Taste of Home. I had problems with the almond extract. Every time I added it in, the mixture would harden very quickly. I like the flavor that it added, but next time I may just eliminate the almond extract since it made it harden too much and made it nearly impossible to dip the strawberries into the chocolate with a smooth finish. I ended up having to spread the chocolate onto the strawberries with a butter knife. I don't know what it is about that almond extract!

So here are my strawberry ghosts. Remember people, I am a NEWBIE! Don't expect perfection from me, just heart and passion!  Check out how my Ghoulish Fingers turned out!

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